Cuckoo
Cuckoo
Starring Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens, Jan Bluthardt, Mila Lieu
Directed by Tilman Singer
Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is a seventeen-year-old girl who recently lost her mother, and is now living with her father, his new wife and her young mute daughter Alma (Mila Lieu) in an isolated resort in the Bavarian Alps owned by Dr. Herr Konig (Dan Stevens) who hired her father to help him build a new hotel. Gretchen feels out of place and unloved by her father, who seemingly draws all his affection to Alma, and is incredibly isolated. She gets a job working for Konig's hotel, and meets the mysterious Henry (Jan Bluthardt) who is a former police officer with deep ties to the hotel. One night Gretchen is attacked by a mysterious woman, and soon things begin unraveling, and Henry holds the key to the mystery - if she can make it out alive.
"Cuckoo" is a film that's much like "Longlegs" in that the trailer really doesn't give anything away, and it's better going into it fully blind than knowing what's about to happen. It's a bonkers mystery, and once unraveled it really doesn't make sense on the surface, but when you dig deeper you understand the director's true motives and meanings, and find that the film is a deep narrative on grief, familial bonds, and the decades-old discussion of nature versus nurture. It's profound and expansive, told in a unique way that - for someone who's seen countless movies - I've never seen done before. When you learn about the true motives of the movie, at first you'll be inclined to laugh at the absurdity of it, but once it burrows into your brain, you'll understand it more and more, and appreciate it for the masterful artwork it is.
It is indeed masterful, for a scant seven million dollars, "Cuckoo" utilizes every penny. The cinematography is lavish, showing the Bavarian Alps as equal parts beautiful and deadly, where it seems like it's a natural trap that Gretchen has found herself a part of. Cinematographer Paul Faltz frames the mountains as he shoots from the bottom to the top, showcasing its beauty but also the impossibility of escape. The visual effects are spellbinding, and the less I say about them the better: it's something you need to see to appreciate. The score, music, and most notably sound effects will leave you in a constant state of unease. The script - as mentioned earlier - is wholly unique and stunning, and the villain is the stuff of nightmares: one particular scene is something I still can't get out of my head.
All that would've been nothing if not for a committed cast, and thankfully director Tilman Singer found the best. Dan Stevens disarms you with his charm and good looks, but Dr. Konig is devil to the core, always coming off as smarmy and cold, which fully unfolds as the movie continues. Jessica Henwick and Marton Csokas play Gretchen's stepmother and father and both are equally mysterious in their motives, especially Csokas's Luis. You're not quite sure if he really doesn't love Gretchen anymore or if it's in her head, but his mannerisms seem to point to a more dark tone that could just be the performance to make you feel that way. Mila Lieu shines as the mute Alma, a young girl with a past of her own that balances youthful innocence and mystery.
Yet it's "Euphoria" star Hunter Schafer that owns the film. She's vulnerable yet strong, a young girl struggling with the sudden death of her mother so badly she calls her old phone just to hear her voice on the message. She is isolated in the huge landscape, set apart from her father and his new family while visually stalked by Konig for mysterious purposes. The only person on her side is Ed, played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey, but even her character isn't seen a lot in the film. Schafer excels at playing this role with equal parts sadness and determination, portraying a headstrong nature but one that longs for love that she just can't find. When all the pieces fit together for her, she rises to the occasion and refuses to back down, despite everything that's happened to her so far, showing her internal toughness. It's a metamorphosis that's beautiful to behold.
Offering a story unlike anything I've seen before, "Cuckoo" also amps up the terror, tension and dread from start to finish, and despite giving you moments of humor it never allows you to fully breathe until the final credits start rolling.
The Score: A+
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